


no perfect cherry blossom

by thebeanunderthecorner



Series: ...and you get a songfic! [1]
Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Barry is a nerd all the way, F/M, Gen, Grand Experiment - No More Kings, Science, Science Experiments, Songfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-12
Updated: 2020-12-13
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:28:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,270
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28036182
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thebeanunderthecorner/pseuds/thebeanunderthecorner
Summary: Barry Bluejeans is doing the best he can to figure out what's going on with the Light, the Hunger, and the Starblaster's odd flight through the planes, but he's still sorting through the evidence.Based on the song "Grand Experiment" by No More KingsA TAZ Balance songfic
Relationships: Barry Bluejeans/Lup
Series: ...and you get a songfic! [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2053647
Kudos: 3





	1. still waiting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "A mystery obscured beyond a doubt  
> It's up to me  
> I'll suss it out"

Barry Bluejeans sat in the lab on the Starblaster staring at the slide on the microscope in front of him. It had been a couple of cycles since they started this voyage and all he could think about was how little evidence they actually had. He had no clue why the Light of Creation kept appearing in these planes they kept jumping to, nor why the big, black, color-draining storm-being-thing showed up at the end of the year just to let them escape again. He had no idea who or what or why they got put back together, regenerated, into the same bodies as the ones they left their plane with at the beginning of every cycle. 

But he sure as hell was going to find out.

...

The routine was always the same. Regenerate, recap, investigate the planet. See the Light fall, fight off the first black tendrils, find the Light. Survive, research, escape. Over and over. They’d done this for over twenty cycles and they had scraps of evidence to go on about the Light. Barry had no clue how long they’d be doing this, so he was furiously taking notes on all the scientific oddities and advancements of the worlds they visited at every turn, independent of Lucretia’s notebooks.

One plane had a metal-eating fungus that seemed like it could be useful, so Barry and Lup carefully took samples and studied them back in the lab. Through thorough study and a lot of trial and error, they were able to synthesize their own metal-corroding fungus, and not just one, but several different types that could selectively corrode certain metals and avoid others (spurred on by an unfortunate mishap in the lab), as well as a reaction inhibitor to keep the fungus at bay. Davenport congratulated them for finding and creating a potential weapon but urged them to quit playing around and get back to studying the Light of Creation, which they’d had for a couple months at that point. Barry sighed and stated that they had hit a wall with that subject. Their captain ordered them to continue working anyway. No time to waste and whatnot. Barry took a deep breath and headed back to the lab.

Other planes were interesting, but offered little to no help in the “Light of Creation Research” department, though they gave Barry many other things to study otherwise. 

...

This year, though, they’ve landed on a beach planet and planned to spend most of the year just partying and messing around. The Light fell early on in the year, so Barry spends a little bit of time in the lab, but he honestly just wants to spend time with the crew outside. 

Yeah. 

He deserves a break. 

After all, he’s still waiting for the evidence.


	2. still sorting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Too dangerous to hover  
> No good to linger here  
> Roots of indecision  
> Dig in and disappear"

Barry Bluejeans, Chief Science Officer of the Starblaster, had had over fifty years of research on the Light of Creation and he just recently came to a conclusion about it. 

The Light of Creation was dangerous.

It was inspirational up to a point, and then it became an addiction if one got too close or was around it too long. Barry certainly had cycles where being around the Light was a boost to his work and then, later in the cycle, it would gradually pull him in towards worshipping it like a moth to a flame. He’d seen this same effect on other worlds as well, so he could rule out his humanness as a variable. 

About one thing he was certain.

The Hunger was chasing the Light. 

It wanted the Light. 

And in its chase, it was harming or consuming or destroying the worlds it landed on. No one knew what actually happened once the Starblaster left the plane, but it couldn’t be good if they were unable to return. That was why they never stayed on any one plan for longer than a year. The Light of Creation would fall and a couple weeks would go by before the Hunger’s search party arrived, having found the Light. Then the Hunger itself would show up right at the year’s end.

There were cycles where Barry just wanted to give up. To just lie down and let the Hunger consume him and the Light of Creation. But then he’d see Lup smile, or hear Magnus laugh, or witness one of Taako’s pranks and be reinvigorated. He loved these people, and he certainly didn’t want them to be taken by the Hunger forever, so he had to keep working. Even if it felt like he was running in circles with one shoe nailed to the floor.

Maybe one of these days he’d be able to break the seal and stop the cycles. Stop the Hunger. Once and for all. Maybe one of these days they’d be able to stay on a plane longer than a year and have normal lives again. Maybe one of these days they’d all be able to relax.

But right now, he’s still sorting through the evidence.


	3. not waiting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I know it's gonna be alright, alright, yeah"

Barry Bluejeans, currently a lich, could remember everything. His corporeal form could not. Which is what made it so hard to look for Lup and try to get the rest of his family back. Even if they remembered him, he would have no idea who Taako, Merle, or Magnus were any time his body was ready to reinhabit. So he stayed in this form and left messages for himself using enchanted coins while his body grew. Some days they were like diary entries and other days were more like instructions, but they were necessary until his human form could get some Voidfish ichor. 

There was no way of getting that while he was a lich. Lucretia’s anti-lich wards made sure of that. She’d made it impossible for him to get into the Bureau of Balance headquarters, even if he just wanted to talk. 

It would be tough to infiltrate the B.o.B. but Barry was through avoiding complications. He didn’t care what it took to get there, and any and all complications would be dealt with in time, after the end of the world. The Hunger was on its way, and soon. And, if he remembered Lucretia’s plan correctly, she was going to put a shield up around this plane, cutting it off from not only the Hunger, but the rest of the planar system as well. It explained why she needed the relics, and why she erased everyone’s memories. The crew, their family, was opposed to the idea of severing every Bond they had, that this world had, to keep themselves safe. It would effectively ruin this world without the Hunger doing that itself. He had to stop her.

Yes, they’d won some and they’d lost some, but everything was going to be alright, Barry knew. He just had to get Lucretia to see. He had to get Taako, Merle, and Magnus to understand. He had to get his family back.

…

Black tendrils swirl in the sky. Lup, phantasmal and resplendent beside him, grins as they rally their troops. Civilians hold pitchforks and swords, guns and staves, slings and bows, as they ready for the fight of their lives. Barry, human again, braces for the first strike from the Hunger’s forces.

The earth shakes.

A black column swirling with colorful highlights hits the ground full force, sending out shockwaves as if it were a rock thrown into a pool of water. Everyone trembles for a moment, taken aback at how strong this thing is, then they charge, weapons ready.

Barry exchanges a look with Lup and rushes in.

This time, he’s not waiting for the evidence. 


End file.
